Great House
, the North (green); House Arryn, the Vale of Arryn (dark blue); House Frey, the Riverlands (dark grey); House Greyjoy, the Iron Islands (dark yellow); House Lannister, the Westerlands (dark red), the Crownlands (light brown); House Tyrell, the Reach (yellow); House Blackgard, the Borderlands (white); House Harrigon, the Stormlands (tan); Ellaria Sand/House Baerley, Dorne (orange); Night King, Beyond the Wall (light blue); Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, the Gift and the Wall (black) ]] The Great Houses are the most powerful of the noble houses of the Seven Kingdoms. They exercise immense authority and power over their vassals and territories and are answerable only to the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, King of the Andals and the First Men. Before the Targaryen Conquest, each of the Seven Kingdoms was ruled independently by a powerful royal family. During the Conquest these families were either destroyed and replaced, or defeated and forced to swear allegiance to King Aegon, reigning from the Iron Throne in King's Landing. The Gardeners, Hoares, and Durrandons were slain and replaced by the Tyrells, Greyjoys, and Baratheons respectively, while the Lannisters, Arryns, and Starks surrendered peacefully and were allowed to remain in control of their lands. In addition, Aegon raised up the Tullys to rule over the Riverlands, which had been under ironborn occupation prior to his arrival. After a long civil war in the Borderlands and the Stormlands, King Aenys I, Aegon's son and heir, elevated House Blackgard to a Great House, as well. Only House Martell of Dorne resisted his armies, but was later brought into the fold through a peaceful marriage-alliance some two centuries later. Each Great House has a large number of vassal houses serving it, most of whom in turn have smaller vassals under them, extending all the way down to farmers and landed knights. Each Great House rules over its territory and is responsible for collecting taxes and, in times of war, raising troops to fight for the king. Otherwise they are largely left to operate autonomously to simplify the bureaucracy and governance of the realm. Robert's Rebellion ended in the exile of the last Targaryens, with House Baratheon replacing them on the Iron Throne. The War of the Five Kings has seen changes amongst the Great Houses. House Baratheon, including both of its rival branches House Baratheon of King's Landing and House Baratheon of Dragonstone, has become extinct. The Riverlands and the titles of House Tully, defeated in the war and exiled, have been given to its former vassal House Frey, though the other Tully vassals remain in open rebellion against the Freys. With the coronation of Queen Cersei I Lannister, the Crownlands are now held by House Lannister, the de facto royal house. Although defeated early in the war and stripped of lands and titles, House Stark has regained control of the North with its victory against its former vassal House Bolton. After Ellaria Sand's coup in Dorne wiped out the last of the legitimate Martell line, House Baerley was elevated as the new sovereign Great House of Dorne. The Great Houses Current Great Houses * House Arryn -''' rulers of the Vale of Arryn from the castle of the Eyrie. Currently in rebellion against the Iron Throne (integrated with the Kingdom of the North). * 'House Frey -' rulers of the Riverlands from The Twins. * 'House Greyjoy -' rulers of the Iron Islands from the castle of Pyke. Currently in rebellion against the Iron Throne. * 'House Lannister -' the de facto royal house of the Seven Kingdoms from the Red Keep of King's Landing in the Crownlands and rulers of the Westerlands from the castle of Casterly Rock. * 'House Stark -' rulers of the North from the castle of Winterfell. Currently in rebellion against the Iron Throne. * [[House Blackgard|'''House Blackgard]]' - '''rulers of the Borderlands from the city of Blackgard. Secretly in support of House Targaryen's bid for the Iron Throne. * House Harrigon - rulers of the Stormlands from the castle of Storm's End. Ascended to the position through a Stormmoot. * [[House Baerley|'House Baerley']]' - rulers of Dorne from the castle of Sunspear. Usurped their position through a coup d'état ''orchestrated by Ellaria Sand. * 'House Targaryen -''' claimant royal house of the Seven Kingdoms, former royal house and rulers of the Crownlands from the castle of the Red Keep. Currently sailing to Westeros to take back the Seven Kingdoms. * 'House Tyrell -' rulers of the Reach from the castle of Highgarden. The bloodline is scattered when the Great Sept of Baelor is destroyed. The only known living member is Lady Olenna, the de facto head of the house. Currently in support of House Targaryen's bid for the Iron Throne. Former Great Houses * 'House Tully -' the former rulers of the Riverlands, ruling from Riverrun, until the Red Wedding. Currently prisoners of House Frey. * [[House Smithe|'''House Smithe]]' - '''rulers of the Smithlands from the castle of Hornworth. Betrayed and forced into exile by House Harrigon during the Massacre at Hornworth. Afterwards, the Smithlands were absorbed into the Stormlands by House Durrandon. Extinct Great Houses Only Seven Great Houses have ever gone extinct, three of which were as a result of their defeat in the Targaryen Conquest, three of which as a result of the War of the Five Kings: * 'House Casterly '- rulers of the Westerlands until they were swayed away from their home by the legendary trickster Lann the Clever. * 'House Durrandon' - rulers of the Stormlands. Argon the Black, the founder of House Blackgard, was a distant cousin of Durran Godsgrief, thus House Blackgard descends from the male line of the House. Orys Baratheon, founder of House Baratheon, married the daughter of the last king of House Durrandon, thus House Baratheon descends from the Durrandons through the female line. * 'House Gardener' - rulers of the Reach. House Tyrell claims descent from House Gardener through the female line, and House Florent is actually a cadet branch of House Gardener, with a better claim to rule based on lineage than the Tyrells. Several other Houses from the Reach also descend from House Gardener. * 'House Hoare' - rulers of the Iron Islands and (through conquest) the Riverlands. After their defeat, Aegon Targaryen commanded the ironborn to select a new family from among their number to rule over the rest, under the Targaryens. They selected House Greyjoy. * 'House Baratheon -''' rulers of the Crownlands and Stormlands from the Red Keep and Storm's End respectively. Extinct in actuality due to all mainline members being deceased but the bloodline is still alive, technically speaking, through Robert Baratheon's many bastard children. The line legally ended with the death of Tommen Baratheon, the bastard son of twins Cersei Lannister and Jaime Lannister, who received the Baratheon name through his mother's cunning. ** House Baratheon of Dragonstone -''' rulers of the Stormlands from the castle of Dragonstone, claiming the Iron Throne. Extinct as of the Battle of Winterfell. ** '''House Baratheon of King's Landing - rulers of the Crownlands from the castle of the Red Keep in King's Landing, and the former royal house. Extinct as of King Tommen's suicide following the destruction of the Sept of Baelor. * 'House Martell -' rulers of Dorne from the castle of Sunspear. Wiped out by the Sand Snakes in their coup d'état, though due to the Sand Snakes all being bastard children to Oberyn Martell, the bloodline is technically still alive. * 'House Bolton -' former vassals to House Stark, rulers of the North from the castle of Winterfell after usurping their positions from House Stark during the Red Wedding. Ramsay Bolton, the sole heir, was killed in the aftermath of the Battle of the Bastards by his own hounds, rendering the house extinct. Heads of Great Houses in the TV series Heads of Great Houses at the beginning of the TV series Just prior to the death of Hand of the King Jon Arryn, which set the narrative in motion, the original heads of the Great Houses in the Seven Kingdoms were: RobertBaratheon.jpg|King Robert Baratheon EddardStark.jpg|Eddard Stark Charles-Dance-as-Tywin-Lannister photo-Macall-B.Polay HBO.jpg|Tywin Lannister Jon Arryn funeral bier.jpg|Jon Arryn The Lord Oaf of Highgarden.png|Mace Tyrell (functionally, in many ways ruled by his mother Olenna Tyrell) Hoster Tully.png|Hoster Tully Balon 202.jpg|Balon Greyjoy Oldtrevyr.jpg|Trevyr Blackgard Doran Martell Prince of Dorne.jpg|Doran Martell Viseryspromoheadshot.jpg|King Viserys III Targaryen (exiled, nominal head of House Targaryen and rival claimant to the throne) Heads of Great Houses after the Red Wedding House Bolton and House Frey were elevated to Great House status after the betrayal at the Red Wedding, which they switched from the Stark side to the Lannister side in the war. The Lannisters rewarded them by naming the Boltons as the new rulers of the North (displacing the Starks) and the Freys as the new rulers of the Riverlands (displacing the Tullys). Edmure Tully was already the functional leader of House Tully for several years prior to the start of the narrative due to his father's old age and failing health, and became the official head of House Tully upon his father's death at the beginning of Season 3. House Stark was scattered after the Red Wedding with survivors fleeing into exile or assumed dead, and thus was left with no clear leader as a faction after the Red Wedding. Joff.jpg|King Joffrey Baratheon (rival claimant to rule over House Baratheon and the throne, functionally subservient to his grandfather Tywin Lannister) Stannis Baratheon (S05E01).jpg|King Stannis Baratheon (rival claimant to rule over House Baratheon and the throne) Charles-Dance-as-Tywin-Lannister photo-Macall-B.Polay HBO.jpg|Tywin Lannister Lysa wraps her sleeve around Sweetrobin.jpg|Robin Arryn (underaged, rule falling to his mother and regent, Lysa Tully) The Lord Oaf of Highgarden.png|Mace Tyrell (functionally, in many ways ruled by his mother, Olenna Tyrell) Roose Bolton Season5.png|Roose Bolton S06E06 - Walder Frey Cropped.png|Walder Frey Edmure Tully Season 6.jpg|Edmure Tully (captured and imprisoned, while his uncle Brynden Tully commands the surviving Tully forces) Balon 202.jpg|King Balon Greyjoy (declared himself independent king of the Iron Islands) Oldtrevyr.jpg|Trevyr Blackgard Doran Martell Prince of Dorne.jpg|Doran Martell S04E10 - Dany (profile).jpg|Queen Daenerys Targaryen (exiled, rival claimant to the throne) Current heads of Great Houses in the TV series Of the ten characters who were the heads of Great Houses at the beginning of the TV series, by the end of Season 6 none remain alive. More broadly, Sweetrobin Arryn, Edmure Tully, and Walder Frey might be included in this count: Sweetrobin's father Jon Arryn died right before the first episode, though his rule is only nominal given that he is underaged, intellectually stunted, and a succession of regents have actually "led" House Arryn on his behalf. Edmure, meanwhile, was the acting head of House Tully for several years prior to the beginning of the TV series due to his father Hoster's health declining to the point that he was bedridden: Edmure became the official head of House Tully upon his father's death, but was later captured by Frey/Lannister forces. Walder Frey has remained the head of his own family since the beginning of the narrative, but the Freys were only promoted to Great House status after the Red Wedding. For that matter, Olenna Tyrell was always the de facto leader of House Tyrell. With the deaths of both Mace Tyrell and Walder Frey in the Season 6 finale, none of the Great Houses are still led by their rulers at the beginning of the TV series. Even compared to the middle of Season 1, the only ones still alive are those who didn't actually hold the title but functionally ruled (Olenna and Edmure) or who technically held the title but didn't actually rule (Sweetrobin). With the passing of Trevyr Blackgard his thirdborn son and heir, Eddin, has become the new head of House Blackgard. Queen_Cersei_Main_The_winds_of_Winter.jpg|Queen Cersei I Lannister (Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men (de facto) Euron Greyjoy Promo.png|King Euron I Greyjoy (King of the Iron Islands (de facto)) Game of thrones 6x5 yara promo.jpg|Queen Yara I Greyjoy (Queen of the Iron Islands (rival claimant)) Eddin.jpg|Eddin Blackgard Robin Arryn-S4.jpg|Robin Arryn (underaged, rule falling to his regent, Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish) Olenna6x07.png| Olenna Tyrell Edmure Tully Season 6.jpg|Edmure Tully (captured and imprisoned) Battle of the Bastards 08.jpg|King Jon I Snow (House Stark) Stevron Frey.jpg|Stevron Frey Prince drevyn.jpg|Prince Drevyn Baerley S04E10 - Dany (profile).jpg|Queen Daenerys I Targaryen (Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men (claimant)) Rochard harrigon.jpg|Lord Rickard Harrigon Category:SharkyBytesz Category:Great Houses Category:Noble houses Category:Great houses